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22/11/2009 Israel Beiteinu will "staunchly oppose" the creation of "an interim Palestinian state," Israeli Foreign Minister and party leader Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday amid rumors that the government was pushing for an interim agreement.
"The issue has not been discussed in any forum … I fervently hope it's a fabrication," he told reporters before Sunday's cabinet meeting, also saying he was unaware of any new peace initiative that Israeli President Shimon Peres was reportedly planning to present to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during their meeting in Cairo on Sunday.
On Friday, The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was interested in aiming for a final-status agreement, and not an interim one as some of his ministers were proposing, if and when negotiations with the Palestinian Authority resume.
Lieberman also alluded to Israel's deteriorating relations with Turkey and to Syria's insistence that Ankara continue to act as a mediator in peace talks between Tel Aviv and Damascus. "I don't think that Turkey's position as a mediator between Israel and Syria can be restored in light of [the Turkish leadership's] slurs against Israel and its statements about preferring a Sudanese murderer to Israel's prime minister," said Lieberman.
When Netanyahu and Syrian President Bashar Assad met separately with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris earlier this month, Assad stressed that Turkey had proven to be a "trustworthy, capable mediator."
Lieberman's comments came as Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was preparing to visit Turkey accompanied by senior Israeli businessmen in order to discuss an "economic upgrade."
Despite terming Ben-Eliezer's diplomatic visit "important," Lieberman stated that it had not been approved by the Foreign Ministry.
22/11/2009 Israel Beiteinu will "staunchly oppose" the creation of "an interim Palestinian state," Israeli Foreign Minister and party leader Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday amid rumors that the government was pushing for an interim agreement.
"The issue has not been discussed in any forum … I fervently hope it's a fabrication," he told reporters before Sunday's cabinet meeting, also saying he was unaware of any new peace initiative that Israeli President Shimon Peres was reportedly planning to present to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during their meeting in Cairo on Sunday.
On Friday, The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was interested in aiming for a final-status agreement, and not an interim one as some of his ministers were proposing, if and when negotiations with the Palestinian Authority resume.
Lieberman also alluded to Israel's deteriorating relations with Turkey and to Syria's insistence that Ankara continue to act as a mediator in peace talks between Tel Aviv and Damascus. "I don't think that Turkey's position as a mediator between Israel and Syria can be restored in light of [the Turkish leadership's] slurs against Israel and its statements about preferring a Sudanese murderer to Israel's prime minister," said Lieberman.
When Netanyahu and Syrian President Bashar Assad met separately with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris earlier this month, Assad stressed that Turkey had proven to be a "trustworthy, capable mediator."
Lieberman's comments came as Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was preparing to visit Turkey accompanied by senior Israeli businessmen in order to discuss an "economic upgrade."
Despite terming Ben-Eliezer's diplomatic visit "important," Lieberman stated that it had not been approved by the Foreign Ministry.
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